[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
. Hope we don t miss Christmas, Evan said. We won t miss it.It might just be us, though.Evan nodded but hadn t looked away from the line of snow-covered trees along the tracks.Kyle gave up on thoughts of what Evan obviously didn t want to do right then or maybeever.He didn t want to fathom that last part.He picked up two fries and shoved them in hismouth. I talked to Oscar, Evan said. That good-looking guy from the hallway last night afterdinner has an alibi.When we saw him, he d just come from another passenger s room.A marriedman on a business trip who he d spent an hour alone with.90 Sloan Parker Oh. So, yes, he was gay.Which also probably meant he had been checking out Evan.Without a thought on why he was changing the subject, Kyle said,  I found out why Hastingswants the journal.Evan set his fork down, a hunk of lettuce still stuck to it. Why? My grandpa knew a group of men who lived in the Colorado wilderness.They were allvets from the war who robbed banks.I m guessing it has to do with the money from one of theirjobs in Denver. Holy shit. Evan gave a long stare, then his eyes widened. The Denver Bank and Trust in1953? Yeah. There was a movie made about that.They never found the money. I thought it sounded familiar.Did you see the movie? No.Was your&  Evan shook his head. Never mind. Was my grandpa involved? I m sorry. Don t be.I don t think he was.One of the others had gotten caught, and that s howGrandpa found out about the robbery.I haven t read anything more yet. He paused, trying todecide if he should direct the conversation back to the one they d left hanging the night before. Iwant to know what happened with Hastings.Evan took another bite of his salad before he spoke. It was an ultimatum.The journal ormy job. They fired you? I guess I technically quit. You can t do that. I already did.Kyle pointed a finger at Evan. You call him back. No way.First of all, I don t want the job that way or to work for someone like that.Mostimportantly, the only way to keep the job is to sell out your grandpa.No matter what else is inthe journal, I m not doing that.Evan s words shouldn t have surprised him, but the rush of pride slamming into him did.Kyle reached across the table and grabbed Evan by the back of the neck.Good thing the tablewas small because there was no stopping him.He leaned in and pulled Evan forward until theirlips met.A simple kiss that said so much more.Or maybe not, because Evan asked,  What was that for? You being you. He stood and paced the room. Fuck them if they don t want you.Youcan find another writing job.A better job.Or you can do this on your own.You can produceyour own show.You can take it to the web.You ll get your break, Ev, and you ll prove toeveryone how talented you are.You ll see.Evan was still seated, staring up at him, his mouth hanging open.His phone rang, and hescrambled to get it out of the front pocket on his jeans. I couldn t get a signal earlier.I bettertake this.You read and find out more about the bank robbery.I ll, uh& I ll be back. He left theroom in a rush, tripping over Kyle s bag on the way, catching himself palm out on the glass door.Take Me Home 91Kyle held back the laugh.Evan was not acting like himself, and not in a good way likeKyle had been dreaming of, and that wasn t funny at all.He glanced at the journal on the bench.Sometimes relationships had to end.Didn t they?Maybe before they got started.Wouldn t his grandpa have been better off if he d never startedthings with Joe? Wasn t that what he d said in the letter to Kyle? I hope you learn somethingfrom my mistakes.Sounded logical.Despite that, Kyle grabbed a pen and the pad of sticky notes and added a note to thejournal.Sometimes you have to do anything you can to hold on to what matters, despite how far offcourse you sail.92 Sloan ParkerChapter SeventeenEvan leaned against the wall beside the door to their room. You ll get your break, Ev, and you ll prove to everyone how talented you are.He d never lose Kyle from his life.No matter what they did or didn t do when it came tosex.He knew that now.His phone rang again.He d forgotten he had it or why he d stepped out into the hall in thefirst place.He checked the display.Dennis again.The fifth time.And that was with his signalgoing in and out.He d let all the calls go to his voice mail the day before.It felt colder on the train.Probably would grow even colder if they didn t get moving soon.He shivered as he looked at the display again and the one name he d have given anything to seeon his phone five months earlier.Now? He didn t want to answer it.He couldn t avoid lifeoutside the train forever, though. Hi, Dennis. Evan.It s good to hear your voice.I saw on the news a train was stuck in the mountains. That s us. Are you okay? Yeah.So far it s the same. The same? Nothing was the same. We re just stopped. When can they get you going again? I don t know.Why did you call? I want to come see you. Now? He stared at the blue curtain covering the door to the room he and Kyle shared. In Ohio.I thought maybe& I want to see you for Christmas. Dennis paused, and whenhe spoke again, his voice was that low sexy tone that drove Evan crazy. I want you back.Of all the times Dennis could ve said those words, he chose now.Seriously? Can I come so we can talk? Dennis asked. Face-to-face. When Evan didn t sayanything right away, he added,  Can you think about it? I can call you later.He didn t bother to tell Dennis it might be hard to get through later, what with more stormsmoving in and his phone s signal already shitty in their remote location.He needed to tell himthe truth.But what was that? What were he and Kyle doing? Evan& He forced the words out before Dennis could say more. I have to tell you something. Not over the phone.I want to see you. Maybe he knew Evan was going to say he d madea mistake e-mailing him in the first place. You think about it, and I ll call you later.I still loveyou, Evan.I always will.That left him speechless.The words he wanted to hear more than anything.Only theyhadn t come from the one he d waited ten years to hear them from.He managed to say,  Okay,Take Me Home 93call me later, then hung up the phone.If Dennis still loved him, maybe it was right to tell himabout Kyle in person, to apologize for getting back in touch after he d fallen for Kyle again.Heowed Dennis that.As soon as he called again, he would arrange to meet with him after theholidays.He didn t feel like heading back into their room to finish his lunch.He should at least go inand get a sweatshirt, but he couldn t do that either.He moved through the train to the observation car, took a seat on an empty bench, andwatched the snow fly through the air with the wind, moving in no discernible patterns, as if eachsnowflake was alive and on its own journey toward a destination it was in no hurry to locate,blowing in the breeze until finally finding its way [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]